(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an article designed to hold and protect identification, credit, debit, and other smart cards, and any information encoded on a magnetic stripe or microchip. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wallet size pocketed booklet which has been constructed to fit within the credit card compartment of a wallet or similar type cardholder.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Various booklets or folders having card holder pockets and a place to record information or transactions are currently in use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,405 (Daneshvar) discloses a booklet for collecting and presenting personal medical information. Although the booklets include pockets formed in the covers of the booklets, the disclosure provides that the pockets may be used to hold additional papers containing medical information. The suggested size of the booklet is approximately 4".times.61/2", and by size alone, would not conveniently fit into the user's wallet. Further, there is no indicated use of the pockets for holding identification and credit cards.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,729 (Jackson) discloses a patient medical information and education container which may be wallet size. Although a pocket is provided which serves to hold a plurality of cards or the like, the user must open a plurality of panels of the container to retrieve a card from the pocket.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,767,756 (Niles) discloses a foldable unit plastic card holder designed to hold a number of cards. However, the card holder does not include any pages on which to record transactions or maintain record-keeping.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,027 (Price) discloses a ticket and money holder provided with openings with arcuate lower edges through which tickets and the like may be inserted into and removed from the holder. The holder includes an outer sheet which is stitched to a filler.
Standard size pocketed booklets are also available, for example, savings and passbooks. However, these booklets are too cumbersome in size to fit within the compartments of a wallet. Moreover, attempts to produce wallet size booklets have been unsuccessful because a sufficient area does not remain to obtain a strong glue bond. Additionally, a booklet that has multiple pockets would be preferred for capacity and versatility.
Applicant's previous U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,401 initially addressed this situation in one manner. In the approach described in the previous patent, the booklet is made with smaller than conventional dimensions so as to fit within the credit card compartment of a wallet. Yet the booklet must be large enough to receive and hold conventional credit cards. To accomplish this, a narrow L-shaped glue strip with a special adhesive was designed to adequately maintain the pocket configuration. While this approach is satisfactory for booklets which are folded and attached along one of the longer sides, it is not well adapted for the type of booklets which are folded and attached along one of the shorter sides. It is also difficult to provide a card pocket in both the front and rear cover.